Getting FOLDOC source

The dictionary source is a single plain text file (not HTML, not an executable program of any kind). To use it, just load it into a text editor and use the editor's search facilities. It is available for your downloading pleasure from the master site or any of the mirrors in the following formats:

Getting FOLDOC updates

Once you have the dictionary source, you can get patches to update it by entering a password of your choice below. You can choose any sequence of alphanumeric characters which is likely to be unique to you (e.g. your login ID). The server uses your password to track which patches you have seen and sends you any more recent ones as a single page. These patches are the output of a diff -c command, and are suitable for use with Larry Wall's Patch utility, available from SunSite.

It's actually a good idea to get and discard one patch immediately before you get the whole dictionary. That way the next patch you get will contain only the relevant changes.

Password:

After downloading the patch program, put it in the same directory as Dictionary. Download any patches into this same directory. Then run the command from within this directory:

patch -p1 < updateFile.txt
(That's a one, not an L after -p). The Dictionary file must have no extension (e.g. .txt) for this to work.

RSYNC

An alternative, and in some ways simpler, method to get updates is using rsync. To connect to the rsync daemon, execute the command:
rsync rsync://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk:8873/
and to, e.g. copy the dictionary source to your /tmp directory:
rsync --times --progress rsync://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk:8873/foldoc/Dictionary /tmp
See the rsync documentation for details (run rsync with no arguments for a summary). Please note: this is an experimental service at the moment so don't be surprised if there's no response to the above command. Please let me know if you find it useful.

FOLDOC on Other Media and Formats

Last modified: Sat Jul 19 00:41:47 BST 2003
Directory
Johns Guide Main | Pharmacy jobs